Applicants register before meeting potential employers at the Diversity Job Fair on December 6 in Manhattan.Getty Images

ALBANY, NY — State labor officials say job losses from Superstorm Sandy cut into gains made this year in New York’s employment numbers.

They say 29,100 private sector jobs were lost in November because of the storm’s impact on the New York City area. That cut total job gains for the year to 83,500.

The labor department says telephone surveys showed the state’s unemployment rate in November dropping to 8.3 percent from from 8.7 in October, with the rate in the city dropping to 8.8 percent from 9.2. But it cautioned the survey was conducted within a week of the Oct. 29 storm and may not reflect the full effect it’s had on employment.

The agency said in November that 110,300 jobs had been created this year.